Introducing the William Henry Seward Award

Last night, in the wee small hours of the morning, I finished reading Team of Rivals. The book, by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, chronicles the Abraham Lincoln administration, and specifically Lincoln's relationship with William Seward, Salmon Chase and Edward Bates, onetime rivals for the Republican presidential nomination whom Lincoln ended up naming to his Cabinet.

It is a remarkable read, and I urge everyone to read it. Having learned how Lincoln's America was able to prevail through the Civil War, I have more faith than ever that our generation will survive the perils facing us at present. People forget just how many obstacles this country has overcome in the past.

So, yeah, read the book. But this post is about something more than just a quickie book review.

Goodwin goes into rich detail of the lives of Lincoln, Seward, Chase and Bates - to varying degrees. Bates gets the least attention, though he was indeed a mountain of a man. Chase gets a good deal of coverage but he was, while a good man and a true abolitionist at heart, so ambitious that it served almost as a detriment, and reading about him can be tiresome at times. Lincoln, as our 16th president and arguably one of the greatest minds in the history of man, is an absolute pleasure to read about. I learned much about him that I had not known before, though I came into the book already familiar with his esteemed place in history.

The real discovery in the book, therefore, was William Henry Seward, who served as Governor and Senator from New York and eventually as Lincoln's Secretary of State. Seward was an uncommonly brilliant, wise and warm-hearted man, and a patriot in every sense of the word. When 1860 opened, he was by far the largest figure in the Republican Party, and was seen by virtually every observer as the "inevitable" presidential nominee of the party and, quite likely, the next president. But Lincoln stunned him at the Republican convention in Chicago, snatching the nomination away and, with it, the presidency. Seward, who had worked his entire life to be president, was humiliated.

But in a (dare I say) Hillary Clinton-like fashion, Seward got over it. He campaigned all over the country for Lincoln and was the first Cabinet officer appointed to the new administration. While initially assuming that he would be the "power behind the throne" of the president, Seward soon realized that Lincoln, genius that he was, needed to sit on no one's shoulders but his own. While other ex-rivals like Chase never allowed themselves to appreciate Lincoln's greatness, Seward did. He and Lincoln became great friends, and Lincoln ended up trusting Seward more than any of the other men in the Cabinet. By the time Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, Seward was already predicting that his name would be revered throughout history, on par with men like Washington and Jefferson, if not above them entirely.

My fondness for Seward grew with each page I turned, and I found myself in utter awe and appreciation of his selflessness, intelligence, good humor and supreme sense of loyalty and duty. I realized that he was the ultimate unsung hero. Without his advice and friendship, Lincoln may not have been able to get through his presidency, and the fate of the country may have been very different. Seward might not be on a coin, no state capital is named after him and most Americans don't know him by name, but all Americans owe him a tremendous amount of gratitude for his service to this nation.

It is in his honor that I dedicate this latest Danifesto Award, the William Henry Seward Award, in recognition of the unsung heroes that I come across as I go about my days. I will update this as frequently as is required. I encourage anyone who would like to feel free to nominate a candidate to receive this award. They can be living or dead, real-life or make-believe, male or female, rich or poor, anything. This is the space where we recognize unsung heroes whom history has largely neglected. Oh, Seward's got a statue in Madison Square Park in NYC, sure, and a museum and lots of other things. But, in my mind, he was on an intellectual par with perhaps even Lincoln himself. He certainly loved this country just as much.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, it is with that spirit of gratitude that I dedicate this award to the most unsung hero of them all, William Henry Seward.

Citi/Taxpayer Field

That's what two New York City Council members want to call the New York Mets' new ballpark, opening in 2009.

Citigroup owns the naming rights to the park, and announced months ago that the field would be known as Citi Field. The kicker, though (man, there's always one of these!) is they're getting bailed out by the federal government - and, by extension, the taxpayers - to the tune of billions and billions of dollars, so renaming (part of) the park in honor of the people Citigroup owes for its survival doesn't seem all that unreasonable.

Personally, I love the idea. I love it. Besides my disgust at bailout after bailout after bailout to these huge corporations, I also hate the New York Mets. How much would it suck to have to play at Citi/Taxpayer Field?

Sarah Palin Alert: GA Senate Runoff

GOV. SARAH PALIN (R-WASILLA) TO CAMPAIGN IN MULTIPLE STOPS FOR SEN. SAXBY CHAMBLISS (R-GA) AHEAD OF DECEMBER 2 RUNOFF

That's right: everyone's favorite moose-murdering, Neiman Marcus-wearing Northern governor will campaign in multiple locations for embattled Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss.

The runoff, between Chambliss and Democratic challenger Jim Martin, will be held next Tuesday.

For the record, I predict Chambliss will win, though it won't be because of Palin.

Seriously, though - can't she just go away? It's almost Thanksgiving. Doesn't she have a turkey (or moose) to hunt and kill from a helicopter or something?

Good Question

Matthew Berger, blogging for Marc Ambinder over at The Atlantic:

When was the last time we saw a deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget announced by an incoming administration at a press conference? And before the naming of the secretary of state?

ECONOMY ECONOMY ECONOMY ECONOMY ECONOMY AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Obama and the Gays

In my view, Obama's planning some pretty decent reform when it comes to gay civil rights in the United States (or, as Republicans would call it, THE GAY AGENDA!!!!!). The timing of all this, however, is wishy-washy. There are no specifics as to when all this will take place:

The plan the Obama transition team posted on its website last week addresses family issues, such as marriage and adoption, as well as employment discrimination and health concerns. It reconfirms that Obama does not support same-sex marriage, but that he opposes a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

The plan says Obama believes the federal government should repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which mandated that states do not have to recognize same-sex marriages, and approve legislation that would give gay and lesbian couples in civil unions the same legal rights as married couples.

His plan proposes expanding adoption rights for gay couples, saying the president-elect believes “a child will benefit from a healthy and loving home, whether the parents are gay or not.” Obama also favors repealing the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

The article goes on to note that Obama will expand hate-crime statutes and anti-discrimination laws to cover homosexuals who are unfairly targeted because, well, they're homosexual.

The only thing Obama seems to plan to do within a specific time frame is create a national HIV/AIDS prevention program for agencies of the federal government. He wants to do that within a year.

With the shitty economy and other, much more wide-ranging issues that are sure to take precedent (energy, etc.), I'd be thrilled if all this stuff gets done in Obama's first term. There have already been rumblings that Obama will wait until at least 2010 to repeal DADT, which is probably a good idea, as he doesn't want to use the momentum he'll have right out of the gate on an issue that affects relatively few people. That's obviously not to say it's not important, because it is, but I'd be the first person to advise him to focus on other things first, and, well, obviously I want to repeal DADT.

It will be nice to have a Democratic president in office for a variety of reasons, one of them being that it's simply refreshing to have someone who doesn't think homosexuality is a sin (gee, imagine that). Although the gay community must watch Obama like a hawk and make sure he follows through on everything he's promised. Remember: Bill Clinton was a Democrat, and he gave us DADT and DOMA. Obama still doesn't believe in same-sex marriage and you also get the feeling (again, probably rightfully so) that gay rights reform is not one of his top priorities.

I just want it to happen while he's in office. 2010, 2011, 2012... whatever. Just ASAP, please. We're all tired of waiting.

The Lies They Tell...

...and post online. The Bush administration has reportedly altered lists of Iraq War allies on the White House website:

But historians researching those early alliance-building efforts say they are troubled by what seem to be deletions of and alterations to the early official lists of nations that supported the war effort. The lists were posted on the White House Web site.

While administration officials acknowledged that the number of nations supporting the war changed over time, academic researchers say three official lists appear to have been changed, yet retained their original release date, making them appear to be unaltered originals.

Two other White House lists appear to have been taken off the Web site, according to a study of the documents by Scott L. Althaus and Kalev H. Leetaru of the Cline Center for Democracy at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

These bastards can't leave quickly enough.

Karma's a Bitch

OMG:

THAT although we didn't think it would be possible to silence Ann Coulter, the leggy reaction-ary broke her jaw and the mouth that roared has been wired shut.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Irony, The Irony

Since changing the law in order to run for a third term, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg's approval ratings have plummeted nine points.

Good. I hope he loses on principle.

Obama's Cabinet So Far

If you believe the hype, here's how it looks so far:

Secretary of State: Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of the Treasury: Tim Geithner
Secretary of Defense: Robert Gates
Attorney General: Eric Holder
Secretary of Commerce: Bill Richardson
Secretary of Health and Human Services: Tom Daschle
Secretary of Homeland Security: Janet Napolitano

Why I Love Matt Yglesias

This, among other reasons:

"Between Waxman, David Axelrod, and Eric Holder mustachioed men are taking control of American politics. Perhaps this, rather than a “team of rivals” is the real 19th century throwback element of the Obama Era."